More Apres MasterChef News – From TV Week

MasterChef Australia may only just have finished but how long will the interest in the show continue? TV Week keeps the MasterChef gossip going.

They said:

Chris and Julia: Secret Romance?

After a fan spotted contestants Chris and Julia snuggling together on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne, it appeared that the chefs had cooked up a recipe for love.

Despite their age difference (Chris is 41 and Julia is 23), the pair have a lot in common – they both love food, hail from Melbourne and have recently ended long term relationships.

When we caught up with Chris, he revealed that his eight year romance with partner Homaxi was already under strain when he entered the competition. “We had some issues prior to my going in [to the MasterChef house] and it just kind of deteriorated,” he explains. “being away for four months certainly didn’t help either.”

But he doesn’t blame the stress of the competition for the downfall of their relationship. “it would have run its natural course regardless,” he reasons.

For now, both Chris and Julia are denying reports they’ve become a couple. “We’ve spent a bit of time together,” Julia says, “but we’re just close friends. I’m literally just out of a relationship so I’m not thinking about that kind of thing at the moment.”

“I would never rule anything out,” Chris adds. “But there are a billion things going on and we’re not even back to real life yet.” Chris, who’s searching for a premises for his dream beer bar and restaurant, says the public scrutiny he now endures is annoying, but he tries not to pay attention to it. “There have been articles about me being arrogant, but I think that’s confidence being confused.”

Julia Quits Cooking

In a shock admission, Julia has revealed she doesn’t want to become a chef now that the competition has wrapped. “At this stage, cheffing full-time isn’t what I want to do,” she says. “I’d just like to see what opportunities I can get from having been on MasterChef. I have so many plans, but one thing I’m definitely going to try is food writing – it’s something I have always been interested in; I did a communications degree.”

Although she was clearly devastated at being eliminated, Julia says becoming a chef, “has always been something I haven’t been sure about. I’m definitely considering doing an apprenticeship at some point, but I just don’t think that’s viable for me at the moment.”

Poh’s Struggle With Fame

Poh admits she’s struggling to adjust to her new found fame now that the competition is over. “It’s difficult to get stuff done at the moement because I’m just getting stopped in the street every five minutes,” she explains.

The artist, who’s now working on a cookbook and has a five-year plan to open a restaurant, says she’s swamped whenever she goes out. “For the most part, it’s really lovely when people come and congratulate me. But they always apologise whic is quite funny!”

Judge’s Snub Upsets Lucas:

“Gary said to us,’My top four were Poh, Justine, Chris and Julie – these are the four I wanted,” Lucas says. “I don’t think he realised what he’d said, but it was a bit of a slap in the face for me and Julia. When he said he couldn’t be happier with that, I was a little bit disappointed. Julia and I were out there with this advantage, but we didn’t really get to use it.”

Justine to flee Australia:While celeb chef Matt Moran has offered to mentor her, Justine still plans to leave the country! “I’m definitely moving to France for a good six months to a year,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to do that and make my heritage clearer to me. “I really need to do that, and it is going to happen,” she adds.

Julie’s Heartache:

Mum of three Julie was without doubt, MasterChef’s most adored contestant. Humble, supportive and down-to-earth, she encapsulated the premise of the competition: a home-cook hero with outstanding talent. But behind her smile and determination was heartache, as Julie faced a daily struggle to cope with the separations form her three sons and devoted husband.

“There were definitely some low points where I really, really, missed home and my family,” Julie tells us. “I just had to find reserves of strength that I didn’t know I had to hang in there.”

Although she admits it now takes her longer to get around the shops, Julie is reluctant to acknowledge her overwhelming popularity.

“I don’t know if I’m more popular than anyone else, I’m just me, ” she says. “I went in with the philosophy that if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything. My performance was the only one I was qualified to speak about.”

Now happily reunited with her family, Julie plans to make her long-held dream of running a restaurant a reality.

“I’m going to do whatever training and education I need to get the experience and knowledge to start up a restaurant,” She told TV WEEK. “That’s going to take some time, probably 12 months or so, because you can’t just jump in. I don’t want to set myself up for failure – I want it to be a success.”

Interesting to see in the papers today that Justine’s position in Matt Moran’s kitchen seems to be one of “unpaid spectator”. Given that her booting from the comp was accompanied by: “Gary wants you in his kitchen, George wants you in his kitchen, Jacques Reymond wants you in his kitchen…” did she go with the wrong offer? Or were none of them offers, i.e. they wanted her in their kitchens, but didn’t want to give her a job or pay her or anything… Keep an eye out for what happens with Andre and his supposed job offer in Singapore!

Far cry from the real Masterchef, where one of the runners up has accepted a job with David Thompson at Nahm.

I don’t necessarily find Julie adorable. She really is a blast from the past. I don’t know any 38 year olds like that. Don’t actually know any 48 year olds like that. Why do Australians always like the mainstream?

It took me a full two read-throughs of the Julie’s Heartache article to figure out that her heartache was being separated from her family which she chose to do to be on a reality show! I blame Jenna Morasca with her ‘my mum’s got cancer and I’m stuck here” schtick on Survivor for the rage that I feel now when reality contestants try the “woe is me, separation is tough” line.

Seepi- I think Julie actually grew up in the city, or at least her high school years. As a friend of mind went to school with her. Unfortunately she had no dirt on her.

Kyvyny – Johnny Fairplay is one of the greatest reality TV stars of our time, if I can use George Calombaris hyperbole. I was so disappointed he soft c**ked in the Survivor Fan v Favourites he was only there for one episode but he mixed it up.

Sooty – I love the power of the wang comment – the images it conveyed. Yes I reckon Julia must be really peeved that she was shunted into obscurity in week 3 so she could not get a profile.

Injera – I saw that comment from Matt Moran – do you think it meant that Justine may not be as great a cook as we were led to believe?

That painting of Poh is just top half, I thought it was going to be a full-frontal. Doesn’t look that much like her, and boobs look a bit better, I thought she was pretty much flat chested. Not bagging her, I think she’s a very attractive girl.